2026 End of Session Report
MICA members,
It's here! The 2026 End of Legislative Session report from MICA is now available.
(The end of session report is structured similarly to our weekly updates. You can navigate between the different issues by the different sections on the right hand side of each page.)
Our team turned this around quickly with the intent that it could be a useful resource and guide as everyone begins to distill the scope of changes that occurred at the legislature this year. It focuses on issues that have a broad impact across our membership. While the 2026 legislative session was a difficult one for many reasons, MICA and our member counties worked hard to not just stop negative outcomes, but also to get wins where we could.
(The end of session report is structured similarly to our weekly updates. You can navigate between the different issues by the different sections on the right hand side of each page.)
Our team turned this around quickly with the intent that it could be a useful resource and guide as everyone begins to distill the scope of changes that occurred at the legislature this year. It focuses on issues that have a broad impact across our membership. While the 2026 legislative session was a difficult one for many reasons, MICA and our member counties worked hard to not just stop negative outcomes, but also to get wins where we could.
House and Senate managed to pass significant legislation, including county priorities like a $1.2 billion bonding bill, an IT modernization bill that provides county specific projects and much greater county oversight of spending, and one time money to buy time until next year on addressing other county issues like responding to the unfunded federal mandate changes related to SNAP and resourcing the African American and Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act. The IT Modernization bill in particular was a standout of the session, with $90 million appropriated and the possibility of future revenue growth being dedicated to an IT modernization fund with county oversight as well.
Much of what happens will be dictated by the elections in November. What we found in 2025 is that counties can successfully combat even the most significant cost shifts when they speak with a unified voice. We saw that unity at play again in 2026, when the largest single appropriation identified by legislative leaders was for a county priority: IT modernization. These successes demonstrate that when counties speak together with a loud and consistent message, they can break through other political rhetoric. So regardless of what happens in the November elections that will be our focus in 2027.
With that said, hopefully this document can be a resource for you and your county. Not everything that happened (or didn't happen) this session can be included in these pages, but it covers a lot of ground. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me or anyone on our team.
Have an excellent holiday weekend.
Thank you,
Nathan